Solved: Problem with 2 routers on same network

I'm hoping someone can tell me some specific setting to use to correct an intermittent problem. My configuration:

Main wireless router: D-Link DIR-655 connected directly to my cable modem. Internal network address is 192.168.0.1.

Connected to this router (by twisted pair cable) is a second (older) wireless modem: Linksys WRT54GS with address 192.168.0.254.

Most of the time, each router works perfectly and internet access is perfect. The problem I have is that occasionally when a device connects to my "primary" router (D-Link), the assigned gateway by DHCP is the IP address of the "secondary" router (Linksys). When that happens, there is no external web access.

Any network gurus out there that can explain this and help correct the problem?

Thanks in advance.

 

It sounds like you have 2 DHCP servers on the same network. That will never go well.

How are your routers physically connected to each other (LAN to LAN, LAN to WAN)?

Log into the web page of the 2nd router and disable DHCP. Ideally, you could be using the Linksys just as a switch and wireless access point. Connect nothing to the WAN port of the Linksys, and connect LAN to LAN on both routers.

That's how I do it here.

The 2nd way to do it would be to set the LAN IP range of the Linksys to 192.168.1.* and daisy chain your two networks (LAN port of Dlink to WAN port of Linksys) . This would destroy any existing peer to peer LAN stuff like file/print shring you may currently have, but it would allow every PC to access the internet.

 

Thanks very much. I am connected LAN to LAN over twisted pair. I do indeed have DHCP enabled on both.

With your advice, I have now disabled DHCP on my 2nd router. I'll keep an eye on the network to see if the it fixes the problem, but I suspect it will. Seems so obvious in retrospect!

Thanks again.